BY NIZ PROSKOCIL
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

There was a whole lot of wailing and hailing going on at Monday's Van Halen concert.

Rock fans cheered guitar god Eddie Van Halen as he made his six-string wail. And they hailed the return of flamboyant frontman David Lee Roth, who split from the group in 1985.

To many fans, the real Van Halen will always be the one with Diamond Dave front and center. Seeing Eddie and Dave happily sharing a stage was something many thought would never happen.

Nearly 10,000 fans came out to the Qwest Center Omaha to celebrate the triumphant return of Van Halen's fun-loving original lead singer.

Wearing a top hat, tight leather pants, sparkling matador jacket and his signature big grin, Roth won over the crowd the moment he emerged onstage around 8:30 p.m.

The roar from the audience didn't let up for the next two hours as the band resurrected more than two dozen Roth-era classics, starting with a cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and ending with one of Van Halen's biggest hits, "Jump."

Throughout the show, the band seemed exhilarated and happy to be playing their early hits with Roth after decades apart. The 53-year-old singer maneuvered the stage with plenty of mike-stand twirling, strutting, preening and roundhouse kicks.

At one point in the show, Roth yelled, "This is the most (expletive) fun show we've had on the whole tour."

As much as he got the crowd pumped, a toned and shirtless Eddie was the star of the show. Fans went crazy for his guitar solos and cheered whenever close-ups of his fretwork filled a gigantic video screen that spanned the width of the stage.

Alex Van Halen got his turn in the spotlight with an intense, stick- blurring drum solo that generated thunderous approval.

In the ultimate take-your-kid-to-work day, Eddie's son, Wolfgang, has been playing bass and singing backing vocals on tour. No, he's not Michael Anthony, but for a 16-year-old, Wolfie's skills were just fine. His stage presence, though, needs a little work.

The band was tight as they barreled through a set list that included "Jamie's Cryin'," "Panama," "Hot For Teacher," "Somebody Get Me a Doctor," "Dance the Night Away," "I'll Wait," "Everybody Wants Some" and "Beautiful Girls," among others.

The show also featured a handful of less familiar songs, including "Atomic Punk" and "Mean Streets."

After ripping through the night's third song, "Runnin' With the Devil," Roth acknowledged the near-perfect reunion by saying the lineup was "three-quarters original and one-quarter inevitable."

But none of that seemed to matter to the audience, which came to see and hear a band deliver the goods just like old times.

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About 10,000 people turned out to see David Lee Roth, left, Alex Van Halen and shirtless Eddie Van Halen perform at Qwest Center Omaha on Monday. A twirling, preening and strutting David Lee Roth, 53, rejoined Van Halen for this tour after leaving the band in 1985.

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